Improvement in apparatus for draining sugar



S. GARDNER. APPARATUS FOR DRAINING SUGAR.

PATENTED fiEPT. 16, 1851.

the figures.

UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SMITH GARDNER,- OF NEW' YORK, N.

lMPROVEMENTl N APPARATUS FOR DRAlNl-NG SUGAR.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No- 85362, dated September16, 1851. 7

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SMIT GARDNER, of the city,'county, and State of NewYork, have,

, invented a new and useful Improvement in 'Apparatus for the Depurationof Sugar, but which is applicable to the separation of otherliquids fromsolids and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, andexact description of the principle or character of my invention whichdistinguishesit from all other cal section of my said' improvedapparatus.

The same letters'indicate like parts in all It has often been essayed todepurate sugar by forcing currents of air underpressure through the massplaced in,a vessel with the'bottom,

perforated and covered with wire-gauzehaving meshes so fine as toprevent the passage, of the crystallized sugar, and yet admit thepassage of the liquid matter and an, but the power necessary to inducethe current of air of the requisite pressure to accomplish the desiredresult was so expensive as to render this method practieally useless,for if the charge be increased in depth,-say beyond six inches, thesugar will pack and prevent the passage of the liquid Jnatter and air,and if the charge beincreasedby either enlarging the pan or multiplyingthe number of pans the expenditure of power will be increased in thesame proportion, for the I power applied-to make a given pressure mustbe the same or nearly the same for every square inch of surface, whetherthat pressure be'direct or induced by exhaustion. I have, 'however, soimproved the apparatus for this process that the current of air requiredfor producing the required effect in one vessel on a limited quantitycan, without additional power,

be inade to pass in succession through several vessels, and produce thesame or nearly the same effect .in all of them, and thus reduce theexpense so as to render this method of depurating sugar of greatpractical utility T The nature of my invention consists in ar rangingone or more series of pans with their bottoms perforated or made ofwire-gauze, and each provided with a pan or receiver below to catch themolasses, and provided with an aperture for the passage of the currentof air, the whole being otherwise made air-tight, so that thecurr'ent'of air forced into the first shall, in producing the requiredeffect; pass to the second to produce a like effect there, thence to thethird, and so on throughout the series, and thence in like mannerthrough other series, if desired.

.In the accompanying drawings, a a represent two straining-pans with thebottom 'of each composed of grate-bars I) covered over withfine'wire-gauze'having meshes sufficiently fine to prevent the crystalsof sugar from passing through. Over the upper one of thesestraining-pans is put a cover, 0, of the form of the paninverted,andmade perfectlyair-tight,

and below ita molasses-pan, (1, made perfectly I air-tight, except thatit is provided with a central tube, 6. perforated around the peripheryand near the top or cover, which extends so far over the edges as toprevent the liquid mat -ter that passes through from the top pan a fromentering the tube while the air can escape freely. Below the molassespand is placed. the second straining-pan a, and below that anothermolasses-pan fisimilar to the one 6, except that it is not provided witha central tube, but instead of this there is an air-pipe, g, leading outfrom near the upper edge thereof to the cover h of the top pan of thesecond series arranged and constructed like the'first in everyparticular. These pans are-charged with the -iuatter to be .acted uponto the depth of about four inches. lined with india-rubber or otherelastic sub stance; When they are'all put into a frame, 2, and drawntogether tight bymeans of the nuts 7' of screw-bolts k, they oints shallbe all packed pans can be placed one over the other extend. 7

ing to any heightwhioh convenience will per- -1n it. Each molasses-panin-the series must be provided with a vcentral tube, e, like the pan d,except the last of tl ieseries,whi'ch only re quires to be provided withan air-pipe above the height to which the molasses will rise. The coverof the first series is provided with a windpipe, Z, leading to any kindof blowing apparatus whichiwi-ll force in'air under a considerablepressure, say, twenty pounds to the square inch, (more or less,)although I have found twenty pounds to produce a good effect.

The'edgsof alt the pans are The air thus forced in acts on thesaccharine matter, and carries the liquid matter through molasses-pan,and then it passes through the pipe to the cover 01" the top pan of the.next series, and passes through that series as in the first, and so onthrough any number of series until discharged into the atmosphere. 'Inthis way the current of air required for one pan can be carried throughany desired number of pans performing in succession the oifice in each,instead of being all expended in one,

thus greatly reducing the expense of working.

The pans can be made of any desired form and material, and the jointspacked in any desired manner to resist thepressure and prevent theeseapeof; air. Any mode of mount- ,ing the serieslof pans in framesand-clampii'ig them together may-be substituted for the one hereindescribed which I have -(assayed-with success.

In charging the apparatus care must be tak en not to put too muchsaccharine matter in each straining-pan, as inthat, event the pressureof air introduced will have the tendency to pack the crystals andprevent the discharge of the liquid parts, and, as the same current ofair can be carried in succession through any number of pans, there willbe no necessity for overcharging any one pan. I

It. will be obviousfrom the foregoing that this apparatus can be appliedto other purposes analogous to the'depuration of sugarthat is, 61'driving or separating liquids from solids, so as to leave the solidmatter in a-dry state.

V hat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by- Letters Patent,is-

Combining two or more strainingpans with molasses or receiving vesselsbelow each, substantiallyas described, the said pans being provided witha discharge pipe or tube, substantially as described, so that theeurrentof air shall pass from the lower part of the first to the upperpart of the next through the series, and soarranged as to retain themolasses or other liquid parts, and this combination whether the saidsuccession of pans be used in one or more series, as'de'scribed.

SMITH GARDNER.

' Witnesses:

ALEX. PORTER BROWNE,

OAUTMBRowNn.

